


I Live to Let You Shine

by jordypordy



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake - Fandom
Genre: Cloud and Tifa are married, Dad!Cloud, Fan Kid, Gen, Mom!Tifa, Post Advent Children, Post canon, and have a kid, headcanon heavy, it's cute I swear, t for language, tw for mention of termination of pregnancy in ch 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25415653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jordypordy/pseuds/jordypordy
Summary: Raising a kid is hard. Raising a kid who could single handily take on an army is even harder.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 24
Kudos: 73





	1. In Which Cloud is a Good Dad

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to my mother, who's style of parenting greatly influenced how I wrote Cloud and Tifa. I love ya, momma.

Life is full of surprises. Tifa announcing she was pregnant despite every top mako-biologist saying Cloud is sterile was surprising. Callidora beating the odds and being born happy, healthy and beautiful despite the near certainty of in-utero mako poisoning was a wonderful surprise. 

Cloud Lockhart sitting in the principal’s office with his daughter, another child with a black eye and a furious parent was, unfortunately, _not_ surprising.

The kid Cali had punched, a girl about her age with crimson, artificially curled hair, held an ice pack to her face. Tear stains dotted her visage and she still sobbed and hiccuped every few seconds, lip quivering as she kept glancing at Cali and her mother, who sat besides her. His daughter on the other hand, sat next to him with her head down staring intently at her feet. Her hand viciously and thoughtlessly rubbed circles into her thigh in an endless loop. Cloud frowned, recognizing her all too familiar nervous tick. 

“Mr. Strife-”

“Lockhart.” Correcting those who refer to him by his previous name came naturally now, after eight years of reminding people. “ _It’s because you refuse to change the name of the delivery service.”_ Tifa would chide him with a laugh. Well, she can kick his ass on this one. Lockhart Delivery Service doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well, now does it? 

The principal of Sector 7 Memorial Elementary School adjusted her glasses and sighed. “Right. Mr. _Lockhart_ ,” she made sure to emphasize the name and Cloud was sure she spit as she spoke, “I assume you know why you were called here?”

Cloud leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. “Why my _wife_ was called here,” he corrected her again. His sharp eyesight saw the ends of her lips twitch in annoyance and he smirked into the back of his hands. “But yes, she gave me the rundown.” He glanced towards his daughter’s victim. “It’s not hard to put two and two together, anyway.”

In actuality, Tifa had groaned in agony when she saw her phone light up with the school’s phone number. He had heard her voice shake as she spoke with the administrator on the other end. He had seen the look in her eyes, of fear and agony and anger, as she hung up and threw the phone on the couch so hard they were both certain she had broken it. He had seen the tears well up in her eyes, not of sadness but of anger, as she grabbed the keys to the family’s car. 

She had done this so many times. She hadn’t told him what was going on because she knew he knew that Callidora had hurt another student. _Again_.

In an instant, Cloud volunteered to go take the front of the verbal abuse she was bound to receive from both those who worked at the school and from whatever guardian showed up for the student Cali had hurt. The tears, mostly dissipated by then, had dripped down his wife’s face as she said “No, you don’t have to” but the kiss she gave him had silently pleaded and thanked him at the same time. 

“Are you even _listening_ to me!?” The shrill, bird-like shriek of the mother brought him out of the daze he hadn’t even realized he was in. One hand reached over into the seat of her daughter, grasping her hand and the other was pointing directly at Cloud’s head. Seeing as she was sitting right next to her, she was basically screaming in his ear. He recoiled back, making eye contact with the strawberry blonde woman for the first time. 

Upon seeing his eyes, she recoiled back as well and sneered at him. “Well that explains everything,” she rolled her eyes. “Your kid is a mako junkie.”

Cloud felt his expression drop and Callidora stiffen next to him. He was revolted, sickened at what this woman had said to him. He closed his eyes and exhaled sharply through his nose. “Come again?” It was a struggle to keep his voice steady, but he purposefully betrayed the anger he felt in his monotone delivery.

“You and your kid.” She leered at him, exchanging a look with the principal. “You mako-heads shouldn’t be allowed to breed. The kids your kind create are nothing but a nuisance and a danger to society.” She motioned past Cloud towards his daughter. 

In a fluid motion Cloud was on his feet, in front of the woman. Had the setting been different, he would have lifted her by the collar of her shirt and brought her eyes right to his face. Instead, he opted to place a hand on the wall above where she sat, caging her into her seat. Looming over her, his eyes were on fire as he glared down at her. His free hand was clenched, fingers twitching to grab a sword that was not there. He may have never been in SOLDIER, but this bitch sure didn’t know that and was absolutely going to use that intimidation to his advantage. “You want to talk about my kid like that in front of me again?”

“ _Mr. Lockhart!”_ He heard the principal stand behind him. He exchanged another glance with the mother, her eyes wide and afraid and shaking where she sat. Scowling at her, he scoffed and returned to his seat. He noticed that Callidora had stopped making circles on her thighs. “I-I understand that Mrs. Willowbrook’s comments were uncalled for but I won’t allow the use of intimidation in my school!” The principal’s voice was loud and huffy, her face beet red. Cloud grunted in acknowledgement and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. There was a pause as the other adults in the room expected an apology. It did not come. 

The principal sat back down and regained her composure before continuing the meeting. “Anyway, Mr. Lockhart I’m sure you’re aware that this is far from the first time your daughter had physically harmed another student.” The words hurt to hear, but Cloud knew them to be true. He had never been the one to sit in on these conferences, but he knew how often his pride and joy was in trouble at school. Hitting people or getting into fights. Callidora was exactly like him when he was 10 years-old. 

The meeting proceeded without much incident, but he noted that the woman- Mrs. Willowbrook, although Cloud cared little enough to commit the name to memory- was very quiet and demure for its remainder. After forcing Cali to apologize, the woman and her daughter hobbled out of the principal’s office. Cloud made it a point to shoot her one more mako enriched glare on her way out. 

Cali had then been sent out to wait in the hall as Cloud found himself in a one-on-one meeting with the principal. Yes, he was aware that Callidora was two incidents away from suspension. Yes, he was aware that her grades were slipping and yes, they were working with a tutor to remedy the issue. Yes, of course, they were working with her guidance counselor and therapist to develop coping mechanisms and strategies. No shit he and Tifa were aware of the adverse effects mako has on children. No, they were not considering pulling her and putting her into a school for children with behavioral issues and Cloud was quite frankly appalled the principal had even suggested this. 

A round of 20 Questions later, a scheduled appointment with the school’s guidance counselor and a promise to contact Callidora’s teacher to set up a meeting later Cloud was finally able to leave the stuffy and frankly cramped office. 

Cali was sitting in a chair in the hallway, scribbling away in a sketchbook she carried with her everywhere. Cloud was able to take a glance of her drawings of dragons and fairies before she flipped it closed and stuffed it into her backpack. He extended his hand and her eyes, the color of pure mako, met his before she grabbed it. They were dull and sad, not the usual fiery viridian Cloud was used to. It broke his heart. 

They walked out of the school’s side door, towards the visitor’s parking lot in silence. The former mercenary knew his daughter well; she would talk to him when she was ready. The world can be an overwhelming place for her and it can take a while for her to internalize it. At least, that’s how her therapist explained it to Cloud and Tifa. 

The fire in her eyes returned faintly when she saw that her father had driven to her school not in the family car, but on Fenrir. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, signifying that she was okay to let go and run across the parking lot towards the bike. She reached it well before him, climbing over it and grabbing her helmet, a bright pink monstrosity modeled after a character in a movie she liked. It was perfect for her.

She placed it over her black, chocobo-like hair and smiled a wide smile that was missing a few teeth. _She_ was perfect. 

“Move over,” Cloud instructed her, a smile creeping onto his face. He placed his own helmet over his chocobo fluff, which he only ever wore when he rode with Cali, and grinned over his shoulder. Her eyes were ablaze, renewed, and happy. God dammit, he loved her so much. 

She wrapped her arms around Cloud’s waist, the mako in her blood giving her a death grip. He revved the engine, causing Callidora to squeal in delight before turning out of the parking lot going much faster than was permitted in a school zone. 

The sights and sounds of Edge, which had developed into a proper powerhouse of a city in the 13 years since Meterofall, zoomed by as Cloud and Callidora weaved in and out of traffic. If Tifa knew how recklessly he was driving with her, he’d be sleeping on the couch for at least a week but he didn’t care. The feeling of his child against his back and the sound of her laughter and giggles was worth it.

He smiled knowingly to himself as he sped by the street that Cali knew would lead them to their house and he could only imagine the look of confusion on her face. Her giggles and laughter died down, but Cloud wasn’t concerned. At a red light, he glanced back at her to see her looking at him quizzically, stars shining in her eyes. The light turned green as he winked at her and smiled. 

He drove them far out into the wasteland surrounding Edge, farther than he had ever taken her before. The howls and roars of monsters in the distance didn’t phase him as he rode further out into their territory. Callidora was basically half a SOLDIER and her entire family, both by blood and not, had defeated Sephiroth. One of them had killed him twice. She knew how to hold her own. 

He finally spotted the outcrop he was looking for. Marked by yellow lilies he meticulously maintained, it was his favorite place to sit and be alone. As he slowed to a stop near the hill, he realized he had never even taken Tifa here before. 

“Where are we?” He heard Callidora speak for the first time since he arrived at her school. Cloud took his helmet off and shook his golden spikes back into place as he climbed off of Fenrir. Cali climbed off by herself, her purple skort getting stuck on the seat as she struggled to find stable footing on the ground. Her eyes widened as she looked out over the horizon, seeing Edge and the remains of a gutted Midgar from this far away for the first time. Cloud walked over to her and knocked on her helmet, reminding her to take it off. Once she had, she repeated her question, face full of wonder.

Cloud walked towards the flowers and motioned for her to follow. “Come here and I’ll tell you.”

She hurried next to him and her eyes fixated on the flowers, an “ooooooh” escaping from her lips as she quickened her pace. She kneeled down next to them, allowing the aroma to waft over her sensitive olfactory glands. 

He sat next to her, happily watching her as she smelled the flowers he had cared for so many years. Satisfied, she rolled back onto the balls of her feet before falling to the dirt and crossing her legs. 

“This… is a special place to me.” Cloud explained as his daughter leaned into his shoulder. “I’ve been coming here for a long time.” He looked up at the sky, and memories of past adventures swirled in his head. He had long stopped being sad when he remembered the sad parts and allowed the nostalgia to overcome him.

“Does mommy know about this place?” Cali questioned, picking up a dried piece of grass and rolling it between her fingers. Her eyes were transfixed on the sprawling cityscape miles away from them.

Cloud chuckled. “Yes, but I’ve never taken her here before.”

That got Cali’s attention. She gasped and her voice dripped with enthusiasm. “Really?”

Cloud nodded. “Really.”

“What about Marlene and Denzel?”

“They helped me plant them” he nodded towards the lilies, “but that’s it.”

“So I’m the first person you’ve brought here?”

“Yep.”

Silence fell between the two as they took in the scenery of the wasteland before them. Occasionally, a truck would enter or exit Edge or a fiend, so far away it couldn’t be identified, would would cross its expanse. It was a calm moment with Callidora he rarely was able to experience.

“What happened today?” He finally prodded her. He was positive the details of the situation had been relayed to him, but he went in knowing he wasn’t going to listen unless it came from Callidora’s mouth. She was many things: stubborn and beautiful, impulsive and feisty, proud and strong. She was _not_ a liar, this much Cloud knew. 

She crushed the grass she was playing with as she curled her fingers into a fist. Cloud looked down and saw her biting her lip, a habit picked up from her mother. She gave a cursory glance towards her father. “You’re not mad, right?”

Poor, sweet Callidora. She hated when people were even slightly disappointed in her. It tore her to pieces and she would recede into a shell she usually never had. “Of course not,” he told her truthfully, “I just want you to be honest.”

“She was making fun of Jackie.” Cali explained. “Calling her really mean names, saying she’s dumb ‘cuz she can’t talk or walk.” Cloud could feel the intensity emanating from her as she recounted what happened. “And I just got so mad…” Her voice trailed for a moment before she quietly added, “She deserved it.”

 _I should have known she was defending Jackie,_ Cloud thought as the image of Callidora’s best friend entered his mind’s eye. She had moved to Edge when Cali was in second grade and his daughter had immediately become smitten with her, determined to become friends. 

Hailing from Gongaga, Jackie was mute and has used a wheelchair for her entire life. Callidora had taught herself how to read sign language, just to be able to communicate with her. The two were now so inseparable that Jackie and Cali had been assigned to the same classroom every year, since Cali could act as Jackie’s interpreter. They were two peas in a pod, and it wasn’t the first time Calidora had hurt someone for being mean to her friend.

“Was I a mistake?” She asked out of the blue, eyes now focused on the dirt she sat on. “Maybe it would be better if I wasn’t born.”

The question caught Cloud off guard completely and it took him a second to realize what exactly she was asking. He whipped his gaze downwards towards her, but was greeted only by her black, spiky hair as she looked towards the ground. She was trembling slightly; Cloud was barely able to pick up her small movements. She only ever trembled when her emotions reached a fever pitch and the possibility of her having a mako headache was very real, he realized in a panic.

“Cali.” Cloud’s voice was stern, but he received no response. He reached over with his free hand and grabbed hers, the size of his easily able to grasp both of hers. “Callidora, look at me.” He tried to keep his voice calm and steady, knowing that she would be able to hear even the faintest indication of uncertainty. He wasn’t sure how good he was at fooling her though, as she looked up at him looking like a wounded puppy. 

Cloud squeezed her hand so hard that it would have hurt her, had she not had mako flowing through her. “ _Never_ think that you are a mistake.” He pulled Cali onto his lap, cradling her against his chest. “You are _not_ a mistake and I never want you to think that again.” Not once, not through the tears and fights and anger and frustration, had Tifa and Cloud considered her a mistake. Tifa’s pregnancy, according to all then-current understanding of mako, shouldn’t have even been _possible_. No, Callidora had never been thought to be a mistake- she was a miracle in every sense of the word. “You are the absolute best thing to happen to me and your mother.”

Cali leaned her head against his heart, clearly fighting a losing battle with the tears welling in her eyes. “But all the other kids say I’m weird and that they’re scared of me.” She hiccuped as the tears started to fall freely. “Even the teachers don’t like me. When we talk about mako-biology they all just look at me and-” Her rant was cut off as she dug her head into Cloud's coat and sobbed. 

Having never been good at calming Cali down when she becomes emotional, Cloud did the first thing he thought of. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as tight as he possibly could without hurting her and rocked his body back and forth, the same way he would rock her to sleep when she was a toddler. He placed his chin on her head and whispered words of encouragement to her, telling her it was okay and to just let it out. The way she shuddered against him, Cloud’s heart lurched as he realized she had probably been holding all this in for a long, _long_ time. 

Callidora was a bright star in their dreary lives. Happy, brave, stubborn, perfectly imperfect. As her father, it was his duty to make sure she could shine as brightly as possible. But as she sat with him, crying against his chest because the mako in her blood made it nearly impossible to be a normal girl, Cloud couldn’t help but feel it was his fault she had dimmed. 

“Teachers didn’t like me either.” He had the sudden urge to tell her. She didn’t respond, but he continued anyway. “I would pick fights for no reason. I would bite and spit on kids who looked at me the wrong way. I was a little-” He cut himself off, the word _shit_ on the tip of his tongue. “A little troublemaker,” he finally decided.

“R-really?” Cali sniffled, but didn’t look up as she spoke into his jacket. 

Chuckling, Cloud responded in the affirmative. “I was so bad at school I didn’t even bother trying to finish it.” He wasn’t sure why he was telling her that part. Cali _was_ going to finish her schooling. It’s not like there was anything like SOLDIER for her to run away and join. “I probably would have been expelled anyway.”

Callidora finally looked up at him after using his coat to wipe her face, not that he minded. “D-did you ever give anyone a black eye?” The faintest traces of a smile lined her lips and Cloud inwardly sighed in relief that his dumb idea had worked. He smirked back at her and nodded. 

“More times than I can count.”

“Didn’t your mommy get mad?”

Cloud sighed, a small whistle escaping his lips. “Mad isn’t a good enough word. She was more like-”

“Furious?” Cali interjected, her smile widener now. Cloud recognized the word as one of her vocabulary words from earlier in the year and praised her usage. 

“Yeah, furious is a better word. But ya know what?” He paused, but didn’t allow her to answer. “She still loved me, despite how much of a troublemaker I was.” He leaned down and kissed Callidora’s forehead. “Just like how your mom and I will love you no matter what.” It pained Cloud that Cali would never be able to meet any of her grandparents, but he was glad that talking about his mother no longer hurt him. She would grow up hearing how wonderful her grandmother was, Cloud would make sure of it. 

No longer crying, Cali’s smile folded into a frown. “Am I still going to be grounded? Even though you still love me?”

“As your dad, I have no choice but to say yes,” Cloud admitted. “I’ll have a talk with your mother tonight.”

“Okay…” Cali pouted. “I would prefer no dessert over no TV…”

Cloud found himself laughing again. “I’ll tell your mom that when we talk. Alright, my legs are falling asleep, get off.”

Listening to Cloud’s words, Cali slid off his lap and he sat up. Offering her his hand, she accepted and he helped pull her to her feet. Still seeing the sadness in her eyes, he smiled to himself. “Okay before we go home,” he started as he walked a few paces away, “show me how you punched that girl.”

“Daddy, are you going crazy?” Cali asked, stifling a giggle as her eyes widened in surprise.

He shook his head, bending his knees, squaring his center of gravity as he took a defensive stance. He beckoned her towards him by bending his fingers in a “bring it on” fashion. “If you’re gonna punch someone, I gotta at least make sure you’re doing it right.” He winked at her. “You _are_ a Lockhart after all.”

She took a few steps forward, the mako in her eyes flaring. The fire that burned within her, her sense of justice, the scar on her cheek and her jet black hair that was so spiky it would put a cactuar to shame really did remind him of Zack sometimes. 

She stopped a step away from him and took an offensive position. Cloud towered over her, but he was still prepared for a hard hit- this kid had more mako in her than some 3rd Class SOLDIERs did back in the day.

A spark lit her eye as she swung her fist forward, aiming for Cloud’s face. With reflexes a cat would be jealous of, he was effortlessly able to catch her fist before it made contact. Smugly, he narrowed his eyes. “Nice form but you need to make sure you don’t stare at what your target is.”

“Oh, you mean like this?” Callidora smirked in a way that resembled her mother in every way as she used her other arm to sucker punch Cloud in the ribs. He let go of her hand and crouched forward in pain, sucking his teeth in all while Cali’s laugh filled the air around them.

“That was a cheap shot.” Cloud spit, immensely proud that she was able to fool him the way she did. 

“Mommy showed me how to do that.” She beamed, proud of her ability to outsmart him.

“Yeah I know,” he grumbled as he straightened himself out, “she does that to me all the time.” The words had no sooner left his mouth than he took a swing back at her, aiming low towards her stomach. He felt pride in his heart again as Callidora jumped backwards instantly, leaving only air in her wake. 

“Oh you wanna fight?” She goaded him as she ran forwards, but he jumped out of the way only allowing her to graze his shoulder. Cali followed this movement by immediately spinning where she stood, landing a kick in the center of Cloud’s back, causing him to stumble forward. She took another fighting stance, but relaxed when her father raised his hands over his head in the form a “T”.

“Time out, time out!” He chuckled. He started to walk back towards Fenrir. “If you’re gonna spar with me, you might need these.” Opening one of the bike’s many storage compartments, he reached in and grabbed Callidora’s hot pink combat gloves. He tossed them to her and proceeded to pull out a bright blue sparring sword made of foam as she put them on. 

Putting her hips on her hands, she gave him a look of bewilderment. “You had this planned from the start!”

Closing Fenrir’s storage compartment, Cloud shrugged off his jacket and threw it onto his bike. “I can’t let my choco-girl be sad. That would make me a bad dad.”

Cali clenched her fist, the leather squeaking under her fingers. “Don’t blame me when I kick your butt!” She cackled as she sprang forward, fists reared back and ready to strike. 

Unfortunately, Cloud was not used to how thin his sparring sword was compared to the fusion blade and although he used the weapon to guard, Cali’s strike rang true as her fist collided with his cheek. He stumbled backwards, a sharp pain emanating from where she had struck him. “Not bad kiddo!” He called after her as he steadied himself before lunging forward.

Every blow he sent towards her, she was able to dodge or block with no trouble at all. Of course, he wasn’t going all out as he didn’t want to hurt her but he was impressed nonetheless. Her ability to control the mako that flowed in her blood in the way that allowed her to excel in combat had only gotten better throughout the years. Cloud could look at her and confidently compare her to himself a decade ago, when he was in his prime. 

Her ability to hone her increased senses was also getting better, although it often caused more problems than made better. A side effect of her learning disability was that she often gets overwhelmed when over stimulated and shuts down. Having an increased capacity for sight, hearing and smell often made her breakdowns worse, as she would find herself unable to regain control of the situation.

Cloud had only seen Cali breakdown a few times, but every time it’s been terrifying. 

Her foot landed on his chest as she kicked him backwards. “C’mon daddy, I know you can do better than this!” She teased him. “I’ve seen the way you and mommy train!”

Lunging forward, Cloud slashed the foam weapon downward and managed to hit Cali’s shoulder. His first hit of their sparring session, he realized. “You know I can’t fight you the same way I fight your mom,” he refuted as ducked under a blow aimed for his head. “I’d hurt you.” His eyes, on instinct, focused on the large scar under her left eye. It was barely visible, but he would always blame himself for it and would never allow himself to hurt her again. 

“Laaaaaame!” Cali jeered, jumping backward and dodging a modified Focus Thrust technique. She responded by landing a one-two punch to Cloud’s abdomen and he couldn’t help but notice how good she was at finding his weak points and vulnerabilities. 

He could almost _feel_ the mako in his blood invigorate him as his daughter continued to taunt him with every successful hit on her end and every unsuccessful blow on his end. Figuring it was time to reassure his dominance over this small, ten year-old child, Cloud once again took a defensive position right as Callidora took another swing at him. Mimicking the first attack of their fight, he grabbed her fist once again. He saw her eyes flicker in excitement, but before she could punch him the ribs again, Cloud kneed her in the stomach. She hunched forward in pain as her father landed the final blow, thrusting his sword forward into her torso and knocking her backwards to the ground. 

He stepped forward towards Cali’s still body, knowing she wasn’t _actually_ hurt. He stood over her and pointed the tip of his fake sword at her throat. “Who’s lame now?” He smirked.

But his demeanor changed immediately when he saw the fear in her eyes. He lowered his weapon, and his voice trembled as he spoke. “Are you okay? D-did I hurt you?”

“The flowers.” She breathed, rolling over in the dirt so she was on her stomach. Cloud was confused for just a moment, before he realized her head had landed at the edge of the flowerbed. “We can’t hurt the flowers.”

Cloud’s heart sank. “What are you talking about?” He asked, although he knew exactly what was to come. 

“We can’t hurt the flowers!” Callidora repeated, her voice raised. She glanced over her shoulder to her dad. “It would make Aerith sad!”

In an instant, Cloud was back in the church in Sector 5. Lilies cushioned his fall, Aerith’s sweet voice rousing him. Her scolding him to be mindful of the flowers as he fought Reno off echoed in his ears.

Of course, Callidora had never met Aerith. People barely talked about Aerith around her and besides Cali’s middle name being the same as the flower girl’s, there wasn’t much around them to remind everyone of her. But ever since she could talk, Cali had been able to hold conversations about the woman, talking about things she couldn’t have possibly known.

“Children of mako have the Planet’s wisdom flowing through them,” Red had explained when Cali was about three years-old. “They gain the Planet’s knowledge through dreams and visions, but they are rarely able to discern the details.” He had glanced towards Cali, who had been playing with a stuffed toy. “For her to know Aerith by name is unusual, to say the least.”

“Aerith… Aerith isn’t here, Cali.” Cloud stammered. Her dreams of their friend were rare, but it was always chilling when they happened. “She won’t be sad about the flowers.”

“Yes she will!” The words were almost screamed at Cloud as she stood up. She stomped her foot, paying careful attention to not step on a lily. “She’ll be mad at you and me and mommy if we hurt her flowers!”

“Cali…” He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, before pulling her into a hug. “Aerith has been dead for a long time. She won’t be sad about the flowers.”

Pulling away from his embrace, Callidora’s face was red with frustration. “I know she’s dead!” She yelled. “But she’s watching from the Lifestream and I see her when I sleep and she talks to me and!.. And…” Her voice died down and she panted, her shoulders bobbing up and down as she breathed. “I don’t understand. Why am I the only one who dreams about her?” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears again.

“I don’t know.” Cloud mumbled, empathizing with his daughter’s plight of visions of things she didn’t understand. Of course, he knew it was because of the increased amount of mako in her bloodstream but how would he be able to tell her that? She knew that the thing that made dad strong also made her strong, but she didn’t know how or why. And god, he was not the right person to explain it. He could barely explain it to himself most of the time. 

“You’re lying.” She whispered, causing Cloud’s heart to drop. 

He gingerly took her hand, hating that she was able to see right through him. “C’mon, Cali let’s go home.” Without looking at him, she wordlessly nodded and walked back to Fenrir with her head hung. Riding high off the adrenaline of their fight just minutes before, she had now crashed down. She had receded back into her shell, and as much as he wanted to help, Cloud knew there was no bringing her out of it until she was ready. 

As they put their things away, she kept glancing back at the lilies with a sense of longing in her eyes and in that moment, Cloud made up his mind. They needed to tell her everything. About mako, about Aerith, about Sephiroth. 

He shot Tifa a text message, explaining the situation before speeding off back towards civilization, the roar of Fenrir’s engine fading into the breeze of the wasteland. 

  
  
  
  
  



	2. In Which Tifa is a Good Mom

The roar of Cerberus’ engines slowed to a rumble as Tifa put the bike into park outside of the church. She glanced back at her passenger; Cali was wearing her pink hemet and her eyes were focused on the dilapidated place of worship before them. Knowing Callidora wouldn’t see it, her mother smiled warmly at her.

As they walked towards the entrance of the church together, hand in hand, Tifa glanced back at the bike- a sleek piece of machinery that stood out against the surrounding rubble of Sector 5. A gift from Cloud on their first wedding anniversary, he had insisted upon it after years of giving her riding lessons on Fenrir. As for the name? Her eyes darted towards the decal near the back of the black bike of a three-headed Behemoth. 

“It represents our family,” Cloud had explained sheepishly as he held up three fingers to her on the day he had given it to her. 

She glanced down at her daughter, the spitting image of Cloud save for her black her, and couldn’t help but agree with her husband’s rather corny explanation.

The heavy wooden doors of the church were shut, but they posed no trouble to Tifa as she shouldered them open. She peered inside, holding a hand out to prevent Cali from stepping forward. Occasionally, a monster from the outskirts of the city would make a nest amongst the pews but this time, thankfully, the coast was clear. Not that she doubted her child’s ability in combat, but better safe than sorry. She lowered her arm, and stepped inside. “Come on,” she called to Cali softly, “it’s safe.”

Cautiously, Cali followed Tifa past the threshold, her eyes widening as she took in the sights of the church. Tifa watched her as her gaze went from the high ceilings, to the broken glass windows, the smashed pews, the black spots on the floor that had long since dried. Tifa frowned as her eyes rested on the stains, memories of the stigma rearing its ugly head.

The sound of Cali’s footsteps quickening to a run brought Tifa back to the present, and she turned her head to see her running towards the flowers in the middle of the building. The Spring of Hope, as the small pool of Geostigma cure had been called in the months following its appearance, had long since dried up. Days after it had dried, lilies were already sprouting where they had been for years beforehand. Nobody knew how they got there, as they hadn’t been replanted. Before long, they agreed it was just the will of the Planet in an attempt to heal itself.

Cali crouched by the flowers, not smelling them but simply staring at them. A slight breeze blew through the hollowed remains of the church, causing the lilies to sway back and forth in a mesmerizing dance. Leaving Callidora to her own devices, Tifa shrugged the backpack she wore off her shoulders and dug through it. Pulling out an old quilt, she silently laid it down on the old wooden floor a foot away from where the flowers bloomed and sat down. She watched her daughter, the light of her life, quietly as she did not wish to disturb her. She smiled when Cali looked over her shoulder and patted the quilt next to her, inviting the 10 year-old to join her. Without a word, Cali walked over and sat next to her mother, legs crossed.

Silence held the air between them as Callidora remained fixated on the lilies. “This was Aerith’s church, wasn’t it?” She finally asked, not moving her gaze. The question was not surprising, but Tifa still felt her heart tighten at the mention of her friend. 

Digging back into the backpack, Tifa pulled out a water bottle and took a sip. “Yeah,” she finally replied, “this is where your father first met her.” She glanced at the ceiling and chuckled at the two distinctly man-sized holes that marred it. “This is also where he found Denzel.” The image of the curly-haired boy entered her mind. She made a mental note to call him and check in on him and his studies at university.

“So is this another special place for daddy?” Cali asked further. 

“It’s a special place for all of us, I think.” Tifa answered, referencing the rest of Cali’s family. She had grown up around them, and even if she wasn’t related to any of them, the group that had traveled around Gaia together were one big unit who had doted on her her entire life. “We brought you here a few days after you were born.”

Cali finally turned her head and faced her mother. Tifa handed her the water bottle as she cocked her head to the side in curiosity. “Why?” She asked, after taking a large gulp from the bottle.

“We wanted to introduce you to Aerith and Zack.” Tifa’s voice was jovial, despite the sadness that had permeated that day. The Buster Sword surrounded by the flowers that Aerith had spent so many years growing still stood at the back of the church and she found herself staring at the weapon that Cloud so religiously polished and sharpened, even if it was no longer used.

She sighed quietly as she let the memories flood her. It had been Cloud’s idea, and idea that he had suggested weeks before Cali had been born. Tifa had loved it immediately. She could almost still see her husband walking through the building, Callidora swaddled and held close to his chest before kneeling before the sword. “This is Callidora,” he had told Zack, angling the newborn’s face towards the sword. “She looks kinda like you.” He had laughed before jokingly adding, “If you were still here I would probably kick your ass.” Tifa had groaned and slapped the back of his head before laughing. 

“Her middle name is Aerith,” Tifa had spoken up as she bent down next to her family. She gently had stroked Callidora’s cheek as she and Cloud exchanged smiles. “Callidora Aerith Lockhart. We wanted you guys to meet her.”

As if in response, the wind had picked up and sent petals flying in the air in a vortex that was anything but natural. Just as soon as it had started, it had died down again. One lone yellow petal had fluttered in the air for a moment and had fallen perfectly on Cali’s forehead, causing the sleeping infant to twitch. In that instant, the family knew that their friends were beyond happy for them.

Cali’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as her mother recounted the story, absolutely enthralled by the tale. “So does that mean they like me?” She asked when Tifa had finished.

She nodded. “That’s how me and Cloud took it.”

Callidora bit her lip. “Maybe that’s why Aerith talks to me in my dreams. ‘Cuz she likes me.”

Tifa laughed. “Maybe.” A pause fell between them before her voice dropped and became serious. “What...what do you know about Aerith?”

Cali’s eyes darted around the church, desperate to avoid her mother’s gaze. She brought her thumb to her mouth and began to idly chew on the nail, causing Tifa to reprimand her for the action. “I know she’s been dead for a long time.” She finally spoke, as she found her mother’s ruby eyes once again. “A scary man killed her, but she tells me I shouldn’t be afraid of him.”

Tifa pushed her hair behind her ear, nodding. She was glad she was the one having this conversation and not Cloud. She loved him more than she could put into words but she could just _see_ the panic in his eyes as he struggled to explain everything to Callidora. He had never been good at having these types of conversations, not with his wife nor with his child. They would talk to her about the details of Aerith’s life together at a later date, but for now she was glad he had asked her to be the one to breach the subject. 

“Sephiroth!” Cali suddenly exclaimed. “That was the scary guy’s name. Sephiroth.”

“Right.” Tifa nodded again, forcing a smile. Even the name alone was enough to send a shiver down her spine, but Cali deserved to know about him. “Your daddy killed him. He’s not a threat to anyone anymore.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Cali agreed with a hum. “That’s what Aerith told me too.” She turned her gaze towards the flowers once again. “She seems really nice.”

“Aerith was an amazing person.” Tifa sighed. “She would have loved you.” Zack would have loved her too, but Cloud made sure Cali was already fully aware of that. When they had decided on Aerith being her middle name, Tifa had battled with guilt about it for a long while. Was it fair to name their daughter after a woman she would never meet? A woman who would never get to shower her in the love that she most definitely would have? She smiled to herself as she remembered those feelings of uncertainty dissipating after they brought her to the church for the first time. 

“I remember,” Cali’s brow was furrowed as if she was in deep thought, “that the first time I dreamed about her she mentioned that the mako in me made it so she could come visit me. Does she visit daddy too?”

For a sliver of a second, Tifa wondered if Aerith ever did visit Cloud in his dreams but shook the thought of it out of her head immediately. He would have said something if that was the case. “No.” She answered simply.

“It’s ‘cuz I was born with mako in me, right?” Cali looked down at her hand, opening and closing her fist. Tifa nodded again. “Daddy wasn’t born with mako, he just has it in him.” There was a pause, and Tifa dreaded that she would ask _how_ Cloud got the mako in him. There was no way she could explain to her that he was poked and prodded, experimented on and made a living test subject. Not now at least, it would traumatize her. She silently sighed in relief when Cali chose not to push the subject, but her heart sank at the new subject. “I know daddy blamed himself for a long time about Aerith’s death.” She stole a glance with her mother, eyes full of worry before quickly adding. “She didn’t tell me that. It’s just something I know. I… don’t know how though.” 

Tifa smiled sadly as she reached over and stroked the long scar that lined the left side of Cali’s face, just shy of her eye. Another thing Cloud still blamed himself for, she was sure of it. “Yeah, your daddy didn’t forgive himself for Aerith’s death for a really long time.” It’s just the kind of person he was- he had always had a hard time letting go and moving on from his own perceived failures. “But he doesn’t anymore. She helped him understand that it wasn’t his fault.”

“She sounds like she was pretty cool.” Cali idly mused.

And she was, Tifa explained to her before launching into a storied explanation of Aerith and how wonderful she was. How they met and how they rescued Cloud from Wall Market (while leaving out any… unnecessary details) which had Cali reeling over with laughter.

“Daddy wore a _dress?”_ She snorted.

“Yeah, and he didn’t look half bad in it either!” Tifa laughed. She elbowed Cali in the side playfully. “I think he’s better at walking in heels than you are.” Callidora responded by making a raspberry with her mouth. “If you wanna ask him about it, I won’t stop you.” Tifa goaded her, causing her to laugh even more. She couldn’t help but stare at the way she threw her head back as she cackled, her heart feeling full of love for this child she was somehow doing an okay job of raising.

Of course, she and Cloud had raised Denzel and Marlene but there was something so beautiful about watching your own flesh and blood grow and learn and become their own self that was impossible to describe. There wasn’t a day that went by where she wasn’t grateful that they had beat the one in one trillion odds and that Callidora was with them.

And she told her more about Aerith, soaking in the look of her daughters face, her questions and comments. Tifa told her about her affinity for flowers, how she was always cracking jokes and how there wasn’t a spell she couldn’t conjure. She told her about her role as the last of the Cetra and to not believe what she learned about the Ancients in school because it was all based on old Shinra textbooks. She told her how full she made their lives full and how gutted everyone, especially her father, was when she was gone but how her death made them more determined than ever to stop Sephiroth. She left out details of course, but she didn’t need to know everything right now. Someday maybe when she was older, but for now this was a good start.

Cali seemed the most interested in the lifestream when Tifa explained it to her. They had learned about it in passing at school but it was still considered a pseudoscience by many scholars, but no, Tifa assured her. It was real and right beneath their feet. She explained how mako came from the lifestream and with mako came inherent knowledge of the Planet as a result of the cycle of life. Aerith was in the lifestream, she explained, but Callidora already knew that. 

“So Aerith is inside of me?” She asked, placing an open palm over her heart. She seemed fascinated by the topic and Tifa made a note to look around the house for her old planetology books. Her child was a bookworm and she could absolutely see her pouring over the information within those dusty pages well past her bedtime. A memory of an old teacher telling Tifa that Cali read _too much_ during lessons and didn’t pay attention as a result crept from the back of her mind. 

“In a way, yes.” Tifa mimicked her daughter’s movement and placed her own palm over her heart. “She’s inside all of us in a way.”

Concern flashed in Cali’s mako colored eyes as she lowered her hand. “I have a lot to live up to. I don’t think I’ll be able to be as good of a person as she was.”

The woman shook her head, leaning forward to hug her daughter. “You have nothing to live up to.” She explained. “You’re not Aerith, and you don’t have to be Aerith for your daddy and I to love you as much as we do.” She pulled away and looked into Callidora’s eyes. “You’re our perfect miracle.” Despite the fist fights at school, the emotional breakdowns, the tears of frustration that she wasn’t “normal” and her difficulty adjusting to her mako-enhanced strength Tifa meant every word.

Cali leaned into Tifa’s shoulder and wrapped her hand around her mother’s. Tifa’s mind lingered on the word miracle; a word Callidora had heard her entire life. She _was_ a miracle, even if she didn’t know why yet. At ten years-old, there’s no way she was ready to hear the story of how there was “no possible way” Cloud would be able to produce viable sperm because the mako would kill them, but how it happened anyway. She _absolutely_ wasn’t ready to hear about every single obstetrician they had seen recommended termination of the pregnancy because there was “no possible way” Callidora would survive the “all but certain” in-utero mako poisoning and how if she did survive it would be “basically impossible” for her to survive more than a few hours. The fact that Cali was happy, healthy and everything Tifa had ever wanted was nothing short of divine intervention.

“When you were still a baby,” Tifa broke the comfortable silence between the two of them as she recalled the feeling of holding her daughter in her arms, “I used to sing you a song that Aerith sang to me once.” She closed her eyes and recalled the moment many years ago as Aerith quietly sang a song to her as they laid next to each other. She had explained that Elmyra had sang to her, but had never seen stars before so she never quite understood it. Outside of the steel sky of Midgar, it had made so much more sense.

“I don’t remember that at all.”

“Do you want to hear it?” Cali nodded, still leaning on Tifa’s shoulder. Her eyes were straight ahead, looking towards the Buster Sword and lilies. They were still dancing in the breeze, creating waves of yellow and white as they moved in tandem with each other. It was a beautiful and mesmerizing sight. 

Tifa lifted her hand and began to stroke Cali’s shoulder length black hair as she lowered her voice and began to sing, the words coming naturally to her despite it being nearly seven years since the last time the lyrics had left her lips.

_If you'll be my star_

_I'll be your sky_

_You can hide underneath me and come out at night_

_When I turn jet black, and you show off your light_

_I live to let you shine_

_I live to let you shine_

Cali sat upright, her eyes sparkling. “That’s so pretty!” She exclaimed. “And you’re soooo good at singing, you should go on a TV show!”

Tifa chuckled and shook her head. “I’m not _that_ good, Callidora.” She brought her finger to Cali’s lips. “It’s also not polite to interrupt someone mid song; I’m not done yet.” She cleared her throat and continued the song, fully embracing the feeling of nostalgia that was washing over her in a volley of waves. 

_But you can skyrocket away from me_

_And never come back of you find another galaxy_

_Far from here_

_With more room to fly_

_Just leave me your stardust to remember you by_

“Oh,” Cali pouted, “it got really sad. It’s still pretty though.”

“I don’t think it’s sad,” Tifa disagreed with her as her eyes gazed upwards towards the roof again. Through the holes in it, she saw that the sun was starting to set. In the purple twilight that was overtaking Edge, the first of the sky’s millions of stars were beginning to shine through. “I think it’s about loving someone and hoping they grow up to be the best person they can be.” She looked down at Cali, her heart swelling. “I think that’s the perfect song for you. You’re a bright star that is destined for great things.”

Cali blushed, but rolled her eyes. “Mommy, that is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard.” Tifa knew that was her way of saying thank you and didn’t take offense to it as Cali looked up towards the holes her mother had been looking at moments before.

Memories of the water tower flooded her mind’s eyes. “Stars are really important to me and your dad.” She mused aloud. “Your name was almost Stella. Or Estelle. Your daddy and I couldn’t choose.”

“How’d you choose Callidora then?”

“Nanaki suggested it,” she smiled, “it's a traditional name from Cosmo Canyon meaning ‘gift of beauty’.” She leaned forward, placing a small kiss on Cali’s cheek before standing up. “And we immediately thought it was perfect.”

Callidora beamed at her as she stood up as well. “Well I think you guys chose good!” She flashed a thumbs up and placed her other hand on her hip, striking a pose. Tifa reached forward and ruffled her hair. 

“Thanks for bringing me here mommy,” Cali whispered a bit shyly. “I feel like… like I understand things a lot more now.” Once again, Tifa found her looking at the lilies before she looked back towards her. “I’ll let Aerith know you and daddy say ‘hi’ next time she visits me.” She smiled again.

Tifa met her smile with her own. “I’d appreciate that.” She was sure Cloud would too.

In a comfortable silence, they folded the quilt they had been sitting on and stuffed it back into the backpack.

As they exited the church, a feeling of calm emanated off the both of them. Tifa glanced back one more time to see the lilies rocking back and forth in the wind, as if to wave goodbye. She waved goodbye back as she closed the building’s door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a deeply personal fic for me, as my own mother struggled a lot with raising me (I have severe ADHD and guess what, Callidora does too!) Even if it's not my best writing, I'm glad I was able to write this.
> 
> The song Tifa sings is Boats and Birds by Gregory and the Hawk, based on the fact that my own mother used to sing me You are my Sunshine to me before bed when I was small.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this small look into the headcanons I have for Cloud and Tifa. A companion piece to this will be written soon!

**Author's Note:**

> Two fanfics from AO3 user JordyPordy in one year? Basically back to back? It's more likely than you think! Final Heaven has been a blessing to my motivation.
> 
> Thank you to Jetta for being the beta for this!
> 
> Of note is that for the first time in 10 years of writing fic I've used song lyrics for a title :')


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